Leah & Cale
by Skylark Evanson
Summary: The story of Leafpool and Crowfeather if they were human.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: a little thing that came up for me… what if Crowfeather and Leafpool were human? What would happen then? How would it all be different? Here's my take. I thought of it while I was doodling my lost hopes in a notebook.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Warriors. Sorry.**

I looked up to see this new boy, watching his short dark skater-cut hair sweep around his face from the school's sucky air conditioning system. It's always aimed perfectly for the teacher while we all sweat in the middle of the room with the body heat.

His eyes scanned us all, wary maybe. I couldn't read his emotion. But I could pick up on a lot of things at first. His name was Cale. He was from somewhere in Iowa. Folded across his chest, his arms were long and thin, just like the rest of him. Probably built for speed. I could imagine him now, speeding through the streets, running for no reason.

Why is my head always in the clouds?

That was when his dark eyes hit me and I could feel all the blood rushing to my cheeks. I ducked behind my book, _Need_ by Carrie Jones. The sequel was sitting in my locker somewhere. _Captivate_ I think it was called. I wanted to duck into the world of Zara and her pixies once again.

He gave a little wave to everyone. The kind that said 'I don't really care, but I'm stuck here so HI!'

Cale passed me, a pencil in his hand, which he drummed lightly against my desk as he passed and a smile involuntarily crawled across my lips. I fought it back uselessly. One of those hopeless attempts. Wow, he was cool. I wouldn't say… yeah, I said it. Cute. Definitely positively cute. But I draw the line there. I won't date until college. My personal rule of thumb. I should get more thumbs and eliminate half those rules that I have and make new ones. Ugh.

Class continued as usual. I brushed my sandy blonde hair out of my face to catch a glimpse of Cale sitting back there, still tapping his pencil like the cute little skater boy he was. I swear, if my heart stopped there, I would've died staring at him. Until my hair came back down. Pushing it behind my ear was only a temporary thing. It never decided to behave and stay.

When the bell rang, I was the last one to get up and out of my seat, finding myself alone in the class. Being the nerdy girl that knows everyone has its perks. They don't have anything against me, but I know all about them.

My locker was jammed with books from Shakespeare to Maggie Steifvater (_Shiver_ is the new _Twilight_ for those who don't know yet. Love it. Learn it. Live it. Robert Pattinson is for the witchy girls that want an after-life). It's sad, but it's me.

I found that the new boy's locker was only a few down from mine. It was pretty funny watching him trying to slam the lock into the locker even more when it didn't open. And once he did get it open, he pulled out a bag of chips, looked in, found it empty and trashed it.

Guys. I don't think I'll ever understand them.

Weaving my fingers through the mess of pages and books and text, I fetched my sketchbook from the back. It was always hidden there in case someone decided to break in. Better safe than sorry.

I felt eyes in the back of my skin. My head whipped around, throwing my hair into my eyes, and I brushed it out to see my sketchbook on the floor. A pair of hands found it before I could grab it back from the middle of the hallway.

The pages were flipped through neatly, cleanly so not to ruin the perfect pencil strokes that I worked on so hard. "These are good," he said, his voice sounding rough and smooth at the same time. How it was possible: I have no idea.

"Thanks," I found the voice to say back. "You're Cale, right?"

I already knew it. I had it memorized since I first saw him. His eyes were searing my skin and he pressed the book back into my hands. "Yeah," he said. Then the bell rang again, ruining the moment. "Guess I gotta go. See you around." His hands fell into his pocket and he sauntered off.

And he vanished in the hall of the school amongst all those other kids. He wasn't like them. At all. He was the boy with the eyes for my art. The heart and soul of the wind. The one with the tall frame and (I assumed) the strong chest that I already wanted to bury my face in. Weird. I hardly even knew him. Already I was falling in love.

"Leah!" Cassidy called from the next hall over, her voice echoing through me. I caugh a glimpse of her silvery blue eyes focusing on me. She was tense against the wall, waiting impatiently. "Get your butt over here! And bring your bag!"

Somehow, I found half of my mind reaching out to her call. "Coming, coming," I muttered, stalking past the popular girls and football goons. The warriors of the school. They sicken me. Not everything is about them. There are other people too.

Without even asking, Cassidy took my sketchbook and pressed a leaf into the first empty page she came across. A maple, the pointy sides perfectly aligned to make an incredible shape against the page, veins sticking through. "Draw it," she commanded. "I want this drawn before it's perfection withers."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her, and began to sketch, feeling the pencil running along the page naturally.

"So who's the new guy that you were talking to?" she asked as I began to study the veins a little bit closer, making sure that every detail was drawn in before I went back over it once more.

We had the same study hall. No rush to class in any way. "Hold on," I breathed, biting my tongue to focus. Then I tasted blood and decided that the biting the tongue thing wasn't exactly my artistic style.

Cassidy remained quiet. Her eyes studied the tendons in my hand as I gripped the pencil tighter, erasing the one mark that blemished the perfection of this leaf. Why did I draw leaves? Better question: Why not? It's the way I think most of the time.

"Almost done," I sighed, the air from my lips shifting the leaf just slightly.

My best friend was the one that moved it back for me. Same position and everything. Her blue eyes scanned the picture, nearly finished.

I filled in those tiny lines, knowing it wasn't a perfect copy, but about as good as it could get. The pencil slid over the paper like a ghost. Silent, but powerful in the same motions. "Good," I announced, carefully ripping out the page and handing it to Cassidy. Her eyes immediately lit up and I got a hug as she skipped down the hall, singing something about the stars speaking to her, whispering her secrets of death.

Cassidy. I only shake my head when I think of all the other friends I could've had. Jocks, princesses, goths, emos. In retrospect, I'm glad I got stuck with her. The psychopath that speaks of the stars. Not that it's weird! I totally respect it, but I do find it a bit… strange.

My heart pounded as I followed her and she was twirling with each leap into the air, filled with grace and hope for the world outside these walls.

We both believe in these things. Love is something a bit harder for us. It's not easy for the art geek and the dreamer to fit into a crowd of normal people. Me, being the artsy one and she, the crazed dreamer. The two of us, friends forever.

Her purple and gray streaked hair disappeared in a wisp behind the door of our study hall. So what if we're late? Does it really matter? We're a couple of the best students. No one really cares what we do anymore.

I collapsed in a chair to feel eyes against my skin again. I had a feeling Cale and I had just crossed paths again. For some reason, I didn't mind.

**A/N: of course, it should be full length, going all out and into everything. You should already know who is who. Not all Warriors characters will be used. Only the important ones. R&R please!**

**~Sky**


	2. Chapter 2

My eyes hit his face one more time before the end of the day. His face was cold. Somehow, I couldn't help myself from looking at him. I mean, he was like some kind of God.

Cassidy elbowed me. "Who's he?" she asked.

Not sure how to reply to that, I gave her a little shrug. And kept staring. Stupid eyes. Why was I so attracted to him?

The next day only got worse. I found him standing by my locker, getting into the one next to it. "Hey," he said as I approached. Even his voice was intoxicating. I could've drowned myself in him and died. No one would notice though.

"What are you doing?" I asked, suspicious of the way he was so cocky about almost everything. How did I know that?

He gave me a knowing glance. "I got the locker next to yours."

Oh. Joy. How was I supposed to deal with seeing him everyday right next to me? I mean, just seeing him once was enough to leave me on Cloud Nine for hours on end. But every half hour or so? I would die.

"Oh." Why couldn't I think of a better response? Oh right. I'm an idiot. "That's cool."

Cool? Really, Leah? Really?

"Yeah," he replied with a short chuckle that left me breathless. "It is cool."

I swear I would've died of embarrassment if the bell hadn't rung right then.

"See you around," he said with a short little wave and disappeared, fighting the waves of cheerleaders and jocks to get to class. I guess that was going to be his catchphrase. A cute one at that.

My heart pounded as I slid into my desk and curled down so no one would really notice me.

"The stars are calling," a voice from behind me said. I jumped and turned to find Cassidy sitting there, silent and motionless like a ghost. "They say you need to choose your destiny." Her eyes were glazed over terribly and shaded blue, which was strange since her eyes almost always had this silver tint. "Choose, Leah."

"Cass," I muttered, waving a hand in front of her face. "Get a grip."

She snapped out of it like I'd slapped her across the face. "Wha?"

"Exactly." I hunched down a little more and tried to get my hair out of my eyes and survive class without thinking of Cale. Yeah, that obviously didn't work out very well.

"The crow!" In the middle of class, Cassidy bolted up in her desk, causing the chair she was at to fall over backwards and hit the linoleum floors with a loud clang. She pointed at something. Something that apparently no one else could see. Not even I could. "It's there! It's haunting!"

The teacher snapped, "Cassandra, sit down!"

Her face immediately went pale as she snapped out of it. "I'm sorry! I don't know what came over me!" She slowly sat back down and tucked her knees to her chest, her tie-dyed hair falling over her pink blushing face.

I'd have to talk to her after class. But I'd have to survive Cale at the lockers first.

His face was twisted when I approached, fixed on something at the ceiling. "Do you see that or is it just me?" he asked.

"Well, people have been seeing things today," I mumbled.

"There's this shape on the tile in the dots and it looks like a cat or something." He cocked his head slightly to one side and then the other. "I wonder if they do stupid things like that on purpose just to keep us thinking if they do it on purpose or not."

He was capable of thought. That was a good start. And he was smarter than I'd originally thought.

I smiled, opening my locker. "Maybe they do." And I kept wondering about him.

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**A/N: anyone figure out who Cassidy is yet? Review!**

**~Sky**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I got a few right guesses on Cassidy. Sorry the last one was so short! Glad ppl really like this!!!!! And u all kno I needed to add in more characters in here! The true warriors of the books are the ones that suffer dearly.**

**Disclaimer: don't own the idea of Warriors, but all my characters are my own. No stealing or I _will_ track u down. Permission can be granted tho!**

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I dropped my bag under my desk and slid in to see Thresh in a desk beside me. His eyes were scanning me over. "What's your deal?" he asked softly and I wasn't even sure if he was talking to me. He had this long dark reddish bracken colored hair and it was a tangled mess with bits of leaves caught in it as if he had been climbing in bushes for the last few hours. One of the jocks. A stronger senior.

"Nothing," I muttered. Why had he even looked at me? I pulled out my sketchbook and found my hand already gripping the pencil lightly in the shading mode that I had recently adapted. It was this new style that I found I liked.

The graphite skimmed across the same barely arched line that I had first traced out and I prepared to start whatever came to mind. It happened to be Cassidy's screaming. I let the lead start hard, brushing out against the arch and growing at least twenty shades lighter before I finished and went on to the next one, each small line arching to create a beautifully black and gray mix of a crow's feather.

Somehow, it'd come to me and I loved it already. It had just grown on me.

"That's cool," a voice from behind me said.

I looked back to meet darkened eyes. He was grinning, looking as gorgeous as ever. His smile happened to be a bit crooked and his teeth a little yellowed, but I couldn't find the heart to even care. He left me breathless with every word. My god, his hair was like the sunshine except it was as black as night, shining like blinding rays in the crappy florescent lighting. I had to give him credit for being that amazing without putting any effort into it.

My eyes snapped away and I tried to distract myself with something behind him. He was the flame. I had to be the moth. Stupid moth.

Thresh was snickering. He must've gotten daggers in a glare from Cale because he fell silent almost instantly and I felt the darker boy grow tense for mere moments before he relaxed, still looking over my shoulder.

I found that I still hadn't answered him and my mouth was dry and I couldn't drink in the air around us. I didn't really care anymore. "Thanks," I said after a few minutes of stuttering to find my voice.

A flash of purple and grayish bleached white colored hair caught my gaze and I could see Cassidy sitting with red eyes beside me. She was in utter shock. Probably about the predicament in our last class together. She seemed tense and when she saw me looking over my shoulder and talking to Cale, who was in her seat, she fell silent, picking up her books once again and moving to a desk on the other side of the room. She disapproved. Fiercely disapproved. It was her way of everything.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked quietly, looking at me with a bit of intensity in his eyes, curious and vicious at the same time.

"No, no!" I rushed out, dropping my sketchbook in the process. And this whole time, I hadn't realized class was starting and Cale had dropped the idea of informing me of this until after the teacher walked past, picked up my book and took it back to her desk, tucking it safely in a drawer.

Great. Just as I had found probably my new favorite thing to draw. I let out an annoyed sigh and looked back at Cale. I couldn't stay mad. It was safe. He was gorgeous. What could go wrong?

Little did I know, between me and Cale, a lot could go wrong.

Cassidy was the first gone from the class when the bell rang again and once my sketchbook was shoved into my hands, I fled the room just as fast. I guess we both needed an escape.

My locker had all the jocks crowded around it like a flock of ravens. I shoved through them and gave them a good yelling at before turning the dial a few times. 12-4-5. Good. Numbers never changed. Neither did graphite and paper and the feel of a pencil in my hand.

I leaned against the cool beige metal, pulling out my leafy green bag covered in the beautiful branches of a rainforest canopy. Silence followed as I shoved my books in, trying to keep the papers smooth and crisp for when I needed them again.

"Hey," he muttered beside me, his locker opening to reveal a mirror that I could see his expression in, somewhat cool and collected, but painted with a dull layer of confusion and annoyance. "What happened in there?"

"Nothing," I replied, slamming my locker and retreating to homeroom.

I could vaguely imagine his hurt look as he stared after me. His eyes dug into my skin and I threw my bag over my shoulder, pushing him out of my mind for now. I had to focus on the newest issues with Cassidy and school. There wasn't any time for Cale. He wasn't my problem. If anyone could even call him a problem…

Shelby shuffled to the desk next to me. We weren't exactly the best of friends. We weren't exactly enemies. "What's wrong with you?" she asked, flipping her chocolately brown hair over one shoulder to reveal her pale and tan blotched skin. It was some kind of disease that made her face look like it was covered in pink colored splotches. She was the first to jump head first into anything, no matter what we warned her about.

"Nothing." I kept my gaze at the ground and curled my fingers around my backpack in anger.

She stared at me for longer and I felt her flecked hand on my shoulder. "Oh, come on."

Then Mia came to me, reaching out to touch my hand. Cassidy was my closest friends, but I had many others that reached out to try. Her ultimately pale fingers traced across mine and her thick brown locks fell in her face. "You'll be fine." Her tone was so sure, but timid at the same time.

I looked over to see Fresno's blazing red hair standing over Cassidy on the other side of the room with Sahara beside him. She was much closer with them than I was and my connection was stronger with Shelby and Mia. We had our differences. That was why we had come together.

Cale was in the corner, alone, silent. He was focused on something that I frankly couldn't care less about.

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**A/N: take your guesses. Thresh (u'll never get it cuz he's not in the books much so I was compelled to add him), Mia (not hard), Fresno (just guess), Sahara (simple as kake) and Shelby (difficult, I'll admit). More will definitely come soon! Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**

**~Sky**


	4. Chapter 4

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A/N: I know this has been a little slow. Sorry! Kind of working with a whole lot of things now. Going to make a Shiver oneshot and write a Scooby Doo story based on this really scary dream I had… so I'm going to be updating slower. But here's another chappie

**Disclaimer: idea is Erin Hunter's but charries are all mine.**

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I threw my bag over my shoulder and headed out the school's main entrance, ready for a long walk down to my house, silent and alone. I'd only have to cross two streets to get there. It's hard to live without Cassidy. I should know. I lived without her once.

There were footsteps pounding down the sidewalk behind me. Strong, powerful running. I could hear the swishing of a jacket and some light breathing even though running from the school to me must've been hard. It didn't show at all. He was calm and composed as he came up behind me. "I never caught your name," he said, voice normal after the run he'd just taken to catch up with me. And it must've been hard.

"Leah," I told him, keeping my eyes ahead. He was the one who started my fight with Cassidy. He should be the one to pay. But I wouldn't do that. He was… Alright, I'm a sucker for the guy. Dark hair, dark eyes, great smile...

"That's a better name than Cale," he retorted with a snort of disgust. "I mean, tons of people ask me if I'm an ingredient in coleslaw."

I smiled. "I wouldn't get why. That's stupid." I felt a blush creeping across my normally pale face. He made my heart stop, slowly and then I remembered I had to breathe again. Drink in air, Leah. Drink it in.

"Welcome to my world." He reached up and ruffled his hair a little, which made it worse, but it made him look… better. The tousled hair, the dark clothes, the stoic face with that crooked smile… I wanted to be the one standing next to him like that forever. It played into the style he was getting at, if you could even call it a style at all. "I'm probably crazy to you…"

Heck no! Never in a million years! "I've seen crazier." I found myself smirking.

It must've caught on because he smiled back, teeth a bit yellowed and crooked, but he still looked incredible in a dark bad boy sort of way. And at least he had a good attitude on life. "So where you headed?" he asked.

"Just home." My way home: walk some blocks, past a soccer field, duck and/or when the ball comes at me, run past and hope they won't aim for me again, cross a street, walk a few more blocks, cross one more street, turn a corner, and walk right up into my house, front door open with the smell of herbs and lavender seeping out the windows and doors. It's the way I like it.

"Cool."

He gave her his address and hoped she could point him in the right direction. He had taken the bus this morning. Turned out, he took nearly the same path, crossing the same second street as her, but then kept going straight for a few blocks and heading to his own home. I didn't know what it would smell like. Cale himself smelled like… toast and wind. I didn't find that weird at all… except for maybe the toast.

We passed the soccer fields. I flinched as the ball came at us. It hit Cale. He laughed really loud, it was contagious, but I fought back a giggle. He threw it back and hit the kid in the head before grabbing my hand and running for his life with me staggering along a few steps behind him.

I'd give him credit. He was fun to be around.

Cale was quiet. Not the silent kind of quiet. Just really talkative at times until he mussed his own hair and fell all calm again, putting his hands in his pockets and walking with that confident stride and smiling while he stared up at the sky.

Honestly, I thought he was awesome. That wasn't even the right word. He was… incredible.

"You're different," he said softly after a long bout of silence. "You're not the same as some other girls. The snooty stuck up ones."

"Oh, I am not even close to them," I sighed, with a slight laugh at the end. "Not even close."

Those girls were the ones that drove me insane by making me do the entire project at school and then just putting their names on it. They respected me in a sense of things, but underneath it all, they were thinking, without them, I would mean nothing. But I was so much more than they knew.

He grinned. His feet hit the sidewalk, still rhythmic. It was his stride, wide and perfect. Cale was this guy with these thoughts too deep for me to get. I could read them in his eyes, but none were decipherable. "So what's your story?" he asked.

"Just… normal."

Cale gave a little laugh. It was true and loud. "That's a lie."

"How?" I dared to ask.

"You're strange. You're funny. You're different and I want to know why." He put his hands behind his head and locked his fingers together; stretching and watching the clouds float above.

"I don't know why." I really didn't know. I just smile and pretend like I don't exist, to be honest. I'm nobody. But Cale didn't make it feel that way.

What he did to me, I had no idea. He gave me this sense of pride and confidence. He gave me a laugh around every corner. He made everyday objects have patterns and shapes buried in them, symbols and omens of life to come. Cale made me feel strong. He made it as if I could conquer the world.

But seriously, why would I ever conquer the world?

He smiled that crooked smile, making the joy of life seem true and real rather than the fakeness that I believed in. "That's a good thing. If you knew, you might want to change it."

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**A/N: Next chappie should be up sooner than this one was. Honestly, the only things I'm finding different between Cale and Crowfeather is the irritable attitude… which is a bit disappointing now that I realize it. But Leah is definitely perfect for Leafpool.**

**Tell me what I'm doing wrong! Feedback is majorly helpful! Thank you!**

**~Sky**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: been awhile since I updated this one…**

**Disclaimer: all characters are mine. Based off of Erin Hunter's Leafpool and Crowfeather**

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I dropped into a desk the next day. Cale fell into the one next to me. "Hey," he said, not even bothering to shut up when the teacher was talking. He was so rebellious. It made my heart flutter that little extra bit. I really, really liked this guy.

What was I thinking? How could I like him? I had to focus on school. Grades. College. My future. Life. Getting a job. Everything else. Not this guy. He was a major distraction. Major. Distraction.

Cale was special. It was hard not to be attracted to him. For me, at least. I mean, I had to make sure to swallow my spit instead of drooling. That happened at random intervals throughout the day, not just around him. Probably because class was so boring.

Dark eyes entranced me. I wanted to be the one to sit there and stare into them for a long time, soaking in the radiance of his blackened eyes. He was so exotic...

"You awake there, Leah?" he asked softly with the slightest of chuckles, waving a hand in front of my face.

Apparently, it looked like he was raising his hand. He got called on. "Mr. Fedder."

His dark eyes widened. Only "Crap" could escape his lips before he knew he was in trouble and I gave him a shy smile. Cale rose to his feet, unnecessarily. I guess he didn't get that you didn't have to stand up to say things or answer. "Um… Well, the Revolutionary War was fought in Britain."

Oh God, off to a bad start within the first sentence, he was doomed. I flicked a little crumpled up scrap of paper at his hand.

Must've noticed because Cale immediately looked to me. I moved my notes so that he could read off of them. His black eyes flitted across the page at light speed, taking in the details that he had clearly forgotten. Actually, he'd probably forgotten the whole war.

There were already giggles spreading through the class from the girls and most guys were smirking or fighting off chuckles.

"I mean, America and it was _against_ Britain." He gave me a subtle wink. "Sorry 'bout that." Cale was able to pull off the whole thing flawlessly after that. With help from my notes. He kept his voice level and eye contact with the teacher never broke off at any point even when her deep set, beady eyes turned their narrow glare on him. Didn't even flinch. He was a master at the art of saving himself. And others, as I would find out later.

I couldn't get enough of him. When Cassidy leapt in step beside me, Cale was quick to drift away. Either he didn't want to get in the way of our 'girl talk' or he just didn't like Cassidy. I hoped it was the first of these two options.

I loved Cassidy. She was like a sister. She showed me everything. Make-up. Clothes. Glitter. She showed me life. Cassidy was my mentor in more ways than one.

Cale was the wild side of life. He was danger in a nutshell. I wasn't meant for him, obviously. But every part of me wanted to get my fingers tangled in those long dark strands of black hair and curl my face into his chest and drink in that scent of wind and wilderness that came off of him in waves. I was just pulled to him.

Back to my moth and flame theory again. Me equals moth. Him equals incredibly hot and bright fire. Stupid moth. Very nice fire though.

She flipped her hair out of her eyes. "So, Leah," she started, her head tilting to one side as her other hand worked its way to muss her hair so that it had that frizzy touch to it. "Think you can draw something for me?"

"Mhm." I nodded towards my best friend. "Just give me every last detail you can come up with. Everything. Unless you've got an example…" I offered out my hand for an image to take from her.

Cassidy reached into her back shuffling through the books and scattered papers that she never bothered to keep in folders or in a textbook. Each corner was bent out of shape or ripped. A few were covered in shoeprints. She dropped her stuff. A lot. At least twice a day. She was a klutz that was for sure.

I looked over in Cale's direction. He smiled at me, eyes lighting up in a dark inferno. My heart fluttered faster. His smiles always had that effect on me. I just liked him so much…

Then he turned back to his locker and Cassidy was shoving a picture of a wolf into my hands. The fur was an ebony color, looking soft as silk to the touch. The eyes were covered by too much blackened fur. I couldn't see the color. I assumed she wanted me to fix that too. "Can you copy this? I mean, not perfectly, but almost copy it. But with golden-y amber eyes. Make sure that I can see them too. Brown fur. Maybe some softer tones of caramel too. You know. In that special way you draw stuff…" Her eyes were begging silently.

"Of course," I said, taking it from her. "But this order may take a while so prepare to sit tight until I'm finished. Give me a few days." I analyzed the background for a minute. "And you want all these trees in here too?"

She batted her long black lashes at me. "Pretty please for your special Cassidy, pretty Leah?"

"Only for you, Cass."

Pumping one fist in the air, she started to dance off in another direction. Literally, dance. She was crazy. I could hear her singing something along the lines of the maniac selling stuff like he'd never sold before. Sounded like something off a commercial I had seen before. Probably for cars. I'd lost track after a while.

A slight buzzing noise filling my head and I could feel the static pulsing through me, making every hair stand on end. Cale was obviously back. "She seemed happy," he noted in a murmur loud enough for only my ears to hear. "Give her sugar or something?"

"That would be the most dangerous mistake I would ever make." I knew how Cassidy could be on enough sugar. She was about as dangerous as an atomic bomb.

There was a spark of electricity I felt pass between us as he came a little closer to me, just to be close. "I believe that. I've only just met her a few times, but yet I have a feeling that she doesn't like me that much.

He gave a tiny chuckle and I could feel his fingers looping themselves in my hair.

Wow. He knew how to make me want him even more. I just… wow. Just wow. I wanted to bury my face in his chest. I liked the way his presence made my skin crawl and my heart race as fast as a horse across open moorland. My eyes were wide as that connection stayed with me. I felt electrified all the time near him. And I wanted Cale.

That was hard to believe that I actually found myself liking someone. I totally liked him. And I'd known him how long now? A day? Two? Maybe three? I'd lost count and any sense of caring because his fingers were tangled in my hair, just playing with me for a few minutes.

The corners of his lips were twisted up in a smile, so precious, so adoring that I could hardly believe I was seeing it. I wanted him. I wanted him so badly I could taste it. His smile was an addiction. His eyes were a dark tunnel that I was anxious to explore. Cale was the kind of guy who you desperately wanted to have his arm around you. His arms were long and slender, the kind that could wrap around your waist effortlessly, no stretching needed. And with Cale, he knew exactly what he wanted. He didn't care what others thought about anything he did. He just did it. Like the way his hand was twined in my brown and blonde streaked hair, with bits of tan. Cale didn't care. Surprisingly, I liked that.

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**A/N; short chappie, I know. Send me a review!**

**~Sky**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: wrote this while I was on vaca!!**

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I heard Thresh drop into the desk beside me once again, arms bulging out of the short sleeves of his shirt with the loose jersey of our school football team over it. He tossed his hair out of his eyes. His sight caught me for a mere second before he slung his bag over the back of the chair and slumped down in the seat.

Their lives are so crazy and hectic. Football. Work. School. Sleep. No time for much else except parties in the middle of the night. It makes me grateful for who I am and what I have. It's all in the dynamics of social status.

Leaders are those who are the class pets. The ones who basically lead everyone to better lives. The decision maker. The one that can strike fear into the eyes of any disobediant member of the society.

I think they're just downright annoying sometimes when they can never admit that they're wrong. It's part of being a good leader to make mistakes and learn from them.

Like Fresno. He's one of our top students. Definitely a leader type. But in my opinion, not one of the best. He knows the difference between right and wrong, but he won't think for himself when shown some idea better than his own. He takes it and jumps head first. One of his flaws. I guess nobody's perfect.

Then they've got their right hands. Or maybe deputies. Whatever anyone calls them, they're the second top dog. The follower and organizer. Clear it with the leader and then bound off, ready for what's next on the path of never ending obediance.

Sickening.

Garreth would have to be the right hand to Fresno. He's got the undying loyalties and focus. Although even he has his flaws. Cassidy and I always laugh at him, saying he's the 'Walking Stomach' or 'The Bottomless Pit'. The guy never stops eating. And I mean /never/. It's insane how much Garreth can eat! That, and he doesn't do the best in gym class compared to others.

Gym is the main status judge. Whether your fit to play football or lacrosse. Lithe enough to be on the track team. Tall enough for basketball. Pretty enough to be deemed a cheerleader. Or dumb enough to be kicked out of the class permanently. It is the test of the champions. The test of the warriors.

Queens. The princesses. The ones that find a way to create enough drama to create their own soap opera. Two words. Cheer. Leaders. All they care about are themselves and their own followers. Their posse. The ones they're supposed to be protecting or thowing into the danger to save themselves from it. They obey no one and question anyone that seems to be in their way. It's their lives. And they know how to play this game of life using only charm, cunning, back-stabbing, and good looks.

Cassidy and I like to call them Haters. Without reason or rhyme, their duty is to hate anyone that steps in the way of their reputation or their boyfriend.

I keep tabs on a few examples of them, but most of them are just snobs. My distance is my safety.

Then there are the nerds. Learning the ropes. Showing off when unnecessary. Determined to prove themselves worthy of being part of the high school society. Destined for something greater than life. As we all should be. As none of us will amount to. They are apprentices to the professionals.

We show them how to act. How to behave. How to be accepted. They learn it slowly but with certain eagerness.  
They want to know. They want to feel special. They want to be at the same ranks as the rest of us.

They will be. In time.

Their mentors are the jocks. The athletes. The seniors. The warriors of the school, fighting their way up the chain to the top of the world for superiority and perfection. They will never reach it.

Thresh is one of them. He's strong and powerful with broad shoulders and a shocking tuft of dark bracken colored hair. He never ceases to amaze me some days. Ready to fight for his turf. Prepared for any kind of verbal war. Always waiting in the shadows for another challenger to come his way, get one finger over the line before he strikes, lashing out with tooth and claw, no questions asked.

They're the ones that drive the school forward through the hard times.

I find myself to be an outsider, clutching my notebook to my chest to hustle through the hallways unnoticed to everyone. It is my way of grace. I duck under flailing arms and hide behind a locker door to keep in the shadows of darkness. I don't want to be known. I don't choose to be known. But some people pick me out of a crowd and decide that I'm worthy of being their friend. If people like me weren't around, no one else would be able to have a true rank. They'd be a jumbled mix of jocks and populars and students.

That's why they need me. Even if they don't know it.

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**A/N: short, I know, but I couldn't remember where I left off, so I just had to wing it.**

**Please leave a review**

**~Sky**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: sorry bout the last one. I didn't have internet access to look back and check what I had written before because the middle of the ocean doesn't have any internet! So for those of u who weren't exactly happy with me, chill. I couldn't check the last chapter because I didn't have it.**

**Disclaimer: plotline is by Erin Hunter (aka: Vicky Holmes, Cherith Baldry, and Kate Cary and possibly the newbie. Dunno)**

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I found him perched on the stairs heading out of school. His head hung in his hands as he sat there, looking positively exhausted. I figured he had to be tired. New school. New rules. New tortures. New pain. New misery.

Maybe new friends could weigh all that out.

"Hey," I said, pressing my hair behind one ear and sitting down next to him, bag in my lap, eyes glued to his sullen face. "You look like crap."

That got a small chuckle out of him. I saw the corners of his lips curve up to form that smile that I had fallen in love with. And to my surprise, he said, "Thanks." Then his dark eyes looked calmly up to me. He was slumped over himself. "So what's up?"

"I was just about to ask the same thing," I replied coolly. And trust me, cool is not me. "It looks like a truck just ran over you or something."

His grin widened. A sigh came from deep in his chest, the air escaping through his perfect smile. "Something like that," he answered, my question unasked. "So where are you headed?" Cale rose to his feet, that smile lingering on his charming face.

"Home," I sighed.

"No art club?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. He held up a sheet of paper, still in perfect condition, not scuffed with footprints or scribbles or corners dog-eared or shredded; my crow's feather. Then he held it a few inches from his face and ran his slim fingers over an imaginary goatee. "I would think that the princess of drawing would take art lessons or something..." He let the sentence trail off, as if he expected me to finish it.

"Nope. It's all pure talent." I was definitely embarrassed that he'd found my work. Especially the one that I thought most resembled him. The crow's feather was dark like his eyes and hair. It was also a small part of a full mystery. It was a sign. An omen. Of what? It left me questioning so much of the world and everything that I ever thought. Then there was the fact that it was a single piece of the whole bird. It was just one feather in the full mass. And in a whole flock, it seemed like an even smaller, more insignificant piece. But some reason, that one feather, and Cale, had become so important to me that sometimes I couldn't clear my head of it or him.

His grin twitched upwards some more. "You heading home?" he asked softly.

"Yeah." I rose to my feet, slinging my bag back over my shoulder. It nearly slipped and fell against he steps again, but I managed to catch it with one hand. "You too?"

He gave me a curt nod before getting up slowly, almost stiffly, and grabbing his own bag off the steps. Cale started his jog down he stairs.

Making it my mission to keep up with him, I followed him down, past the jocks and beauty divas, hopping down the last step only to severely lose my balance and end up crashing into Cale's arms like the idiot I was. I could feel my face become flushed with the heat of embarrassment and Cale only chuckled. I pulled myself from his warm and welcoming grip and tried to regain any ounce of posture that I once possessed. At this, he snickered even more.

"Let's go," I sighed, exasperated. I tried so hard just to watch it all fall.

"You're cute, you know that?"

I wasn't sure I'd heard him right, but he was looking at me sincerely, eyes coated over with a layer of adoration. For me. Leah. The stupid little girl who never seemed to do anything right.

The rest of our walk was silent, but I knew our connection ran deeper than I'd originally thought.

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**A/N: next chapter: Anyone remember the battle of Mudclaw?**

**~Sky**

**P.S. review review review!!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: roleplayers out there: I've got this amazing club on a website called Marapets. We've got some intense roleplay going on and it's incredibly amazing how well the clans are doing for a restart. We're all family and it's a really tight knit community. Type 'marapets' onto Google and the first result is it. Make ur account 18 years old and then contact me here at this username or on Marapets as hollyfoot**

**Disclaimer: plotline is Erin Hunter's.**

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I just jumped down towards the black paved street that lay sprawled out in front of the school. It stretched in either direction, seemingly endless until you followed it and followed it towards one end. Then when it stopped, it just stopped, cutting off at a flat dead end. In both directions. But it was seemingly endless from the steps of the school. And I took the direction towards my house.

Footsteps. Darting between people, stopping abruptly as another body crossed their path before picking up again, the scuffing sound of rubber soles behind me.

I looked back to see Cale racing. His dark eyes were trained on me. His backpack kept hitting his leg as he hooked it over his elbow to carry it along instead of having it over his shoulder. He was trying to catch up, to snag a few minutes of my attention before I turned down my street and he turned down his, that road just as endless as the last. And the next one, endless too. As they all were.

Finally, he caught up, standing beside me as if he wasn't in that crowd just moments ago. His breathing natural and totally regular. It would've taken the air from my lungs to be there, but for him it was like he lived for fighting through crowds and running to catch up. He was probably born to run. And only one word came from him after a long satisfied sigh. "Hey."

"You really amaze me, you know that?" I noted, keeping my pace a bit faster than normal. Just a longer stride and many quicker steps. "You always manage to get to me."

"I'm a man on a mission." He gave me his lopsided smirk, gazing at me with a sweet sideways glance. His dark eyes glinted in the patches of sunlight that rained through the clouds and the thick lines of leafy trees that loomed above us.

I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face. Cale had to be the first guy I had really opened up with. Opening my heart. Opening my mind. Offering him a second chance after all the weird stuff that had happened those first few days of knowing each other.

"Anyways," he said, breaking through the silence that I'd left hanging in the cool air of the late afternoon, "I like walking home with you." Cale gave me his best flattering grin before letting his gaze fall in front of us again, acting as if all his focus was ahead. I knew very well that it wasn't.

There was silence. There was a small piece of me that was screaming to go back to school. Maybe I'd forgotten something. Or maybe there was something about Cassidy. I probably should've finished her wolf picture by now, but I'd been blowing it off recently.

Sound emanated from behind us as a fight raged on the steps, the crowd of it surging it our direction as it grew in people and in ferocity. Chanting filled the warm air as the first few drops of rain pounded down from the sky in a sudden surge of teardrops from the clouds.

It pulsed our way. The crowd grows bigger and the fight is moving towards us. It sounds like it's growing more violent. I let my pace pick up a little faster. Something was telling me that I had to get away. And soon.

Cale matches me step for step. His eyes lift to the sky and he wipes the cool droplets from his face. "That doesn't look good." He then checks over his shoulder to the fight behind us. "Neither does that..."

I couldn't even fake a smile for him. Something was nagging at me.

More people from ahead raced back in mobs, nearly separating me and Cale. I could barely see him in the raving chaos of the crowd, but I noticed a flicker of fear in his deep, dark eyes.

I felt myself slipping off the sidewalk, pushed from the concrete walkway and into the blacktopped streets, nearly twisting my ankle. My arms flailed for a second before I caught my balance. Not like it'd be to awfully terrible if I fell down on the street. So what if I get a scuffed up knees and a couple of scrapes and cuts? No big deal.

Backing away from the mob that pushed me further away from Cale, I stepped deeper into the street, just wanting to avoid the freakishly huge crowd. I didn't even consider where I was going.

My name was called repeatedly. Cale's voice was the only one I could hear above the cries and shouts of the battle raging on. "LEAH!" He sounded close to desperate. Actually, he did sound desperate. So very desperate…

There was the blasting eruption of horns that drowned out the sound of Cale and the yells of my name. I knew I was probably in trouble...

A car buzzed right past me and I felt my heart race like a horse at the Kentucky Derby as I knew that I was in the traffic mainstream. I found myself fearing for my life.

There was a louder horn and the sound of friction and tires squealing across wet pavement and screeching brakes that were failing.

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**A/N: thanks for reading! Try to join the club on Marapets. We've got the second biggest group on the site for Warriors and we're constantly active! Leave a review!**

**~Sky**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: didn't you love the cliffy in the last one?**

**Disclaimer: I own all the characters, but they are based off cats in Warriors**

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Something hit me hard, pushing me. I felt my feet skid across the wet pavement for a few feet before I toppled over on the sidewalk on the other side of the street. There was the sound of blaring horns screeching into the dark rainy afternoon as lightning crashed beyond the line of trees.

"Leah, you're an idiot sometimes, you know that?" spat Cale, looking up at me with his dark eyes angered but also concerned at the same time. "You _do not _run out in the middle of the street on a rainy day. It's a major no-no."

He'd jumped out into the street on a rainy day to save my butt from being run over by a car. We must've slid a long ways to crash all the way on the other side of the two-lane road. I felt my sopping wet jacket clinging to my flesh like a second skin.

Wow. Cale saved me. It took a couple minutes for this to register in my mind.

Droplets of water ran from his dripping wet hair down onto his face. "Leah, you listening?" He waved a hand in front of my face to pull me back to Earth and out of my thoughts. "You nearly _died_."

"But I didn't," I pointed out boldly, staring out into the street at the now pouring and pounding rain.

He lifted his head to the sky and laughed, sounding totally carefree. "You are absolutely /insane/!" he chuckled, eyes still on the clouds above as they dumped their buckets of moisture on the two of us. "You run out in the street, I save your butt from death and then you say that you didn't die and that's all there is to it!"

It sounded like he was enjoying his laughs at my stupidity. And it was hard to say I cared because I was laughing along with him at hat point, the two of us sitting together in the rain, looking at what could've ended right there at my death. A beautiful friendship could've been stopped right there. And maybe something more.

We both sat there for the longest time I could ever remember and we watched the clouds drifting overhead while we laughed at my idiocy. The fight of the school's warriors unfolded before us.

"Come on," said Cale after a while, reaching out to take my hand. I took it and he pulled me up off the wet sidewalk that had drenched our jeans. "Let's get going."

I pulled my bag off the sidewalk, trekking along a pace or two behind him.

He left me questioning so many things. Was I really in love with Cale?

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**A/N: okay there you go. The end of the cliffy part. Now we're caught up to about… 'Twilight' I would say. Thanks for reading and keep it up with the reviews!**

**~Sky**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'm sorry I've been slow on this. Lack of internet as of now and writing is the most I can do and post as fast as I can in about twenty minutes. And I got a few complaints. So I'll fix that…**

**Disclaimer: plotline is Erin Hunter's. Characters are mine.**

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Cale blinked at me shortly as we headed to my house. "You know what?" he asked, reaching one hand up to ruffle his dark hair that had been plastered to his head by the pouring rain that was still coming down around us.

I knew I was soaked. I knew all my books were soaked. I knew my shoes were totally flooded in the rainwater. But somehow, I found the heart not to care about it. I tried to fluff my hair the best I could so it didn't look like I was a total drowned rat. Even though I knew I already did look like one. It was the way my hair worked.

"What?" I responded, trying to let him hear me over the pounding rain. My voice was still quieter than I would've liked.

"I'm thinking I like you," he told me, dark eyes darting in my direction as a smug grin worked its way onto his thin lips. Cale was staring at me with that smile for a long time, the rain pouring down his face.

I let my head tilt to one side. "Huh. Weird," I said, trying not to giggle. I loved hanging around with Cale all the time. He was fun and he was quirky and he smiled and he just didn't argue with me going with him anywhere. He accepted everything instead of questioning it.

The smug smile wiped itself right off his face and it was replaced with his lips turning into a straight line. "What?" he responded, voice a bit quaky and almost scared. I didn't want to call it scared, but that was what it sounded like.

And I let the same smug smirk that he had just worn crawl its way across my lips. "I was just thinking the exact same thing."

Instead of the sigh of relief I had expected, he made one hand into a fist and slugged me softly. It wasn't hard enough to hurt, but it was almost in a playful way. "You scared me, Leah," he laughed weakly, a smile coming on again. He looked at the puddles on the sidewalk then back at me. "Please don't try to do that to me."

"Oh, it's just sweet revenge for saving me from a car."

He laughed so hard. "You think that saving you from that car that nearly killed you deserves revenge?" He had to wipe tears from his eyes after laughing his guts out. Not literally, but enough that I saw that glimmer and twinkle of humor in his eyes. And those might not have been tears. It was raining and all.

"Yes," I replied with my sweetest smile.

He just shook his head and reached up to ruffle his hair once again. He always did that when he was nervous and it was hilarious because he always did it trying to look cool, but it just made him look like a nerd in his skater boy way, like he didn't know what he was doing even though he knew exactly what was going on.

In my eyes, Cale was hilarious. In his eyes, he was just a guy with too many thoughts in a head that couldn't hold all of them at once.

I found his dark eyes on me when I came out of my thoughts and a smile crept across his thin lips and he stared at the pavement for a few moments, shaking his head. "Leah, you totally zoned out again," he chuckled, the rain now running down his face, dripping off his hair and into his dark eyes. "Your eyes got all dreamy and you were off in La-La Land."

I found myself smiling shyly. "Cale, you can't blame it on me."

"Need revenge for something else?" he laughed as lightning flashed across the sky, striking something off into the distance, casting a shadowing glow onto the thick layers of clouds. "Like staring off into the distance?"

Without caring what I did, I lightly slugged his shoulder and let out a little giggle that I didn't know was possible for me. "You like me and then I get revenge for you saving me from my death and you're telling me you still like me even though I'm a total freak show?"

His dark eyes stared at the sky for a few minutes before he looked at me with his smirking grin and replying, "Yep, that's exactly what I'm saying." He walked a little closer to me. "You keep selling yourself short, you know that?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"You say you're a freak show and you're not. You act like you're surprised that I like a girl like you. And it's not that shocking when you're different from every other priss in this hell-hole of a town." He was staring at me with this strange sparkle in his eyes. "It's like you don't even know who you really are."

We were standing at the corner where we usually broke apart. The rain poured down around us and we were smiling back and forth at each other. I leaned against the signpost and stared at him silently before saying, "If I don't know who I am, then enlighten me."

He raised an arm above my head to lean on the post as well, bracing himself like the cool jocks usually did over their cheerleader chicks before they kissed them. Strangely enough, I should've been scared, but I wasn't. I just stood there because I knew Cale wasn't like those jocks and I wasn't like one of those cheerleaders. One of his hands reached up and brushed the strands of sandy blonde from my forehead so that the water stopped from running in my eyes. "Maybe I will." Then a smile appeared across his lips once more. "When it's not pouring down rain." He pushed off the signpost and headed down his street with a jog.

I sighed, knowing that I was a lucky girl. There was a pause in the splashing of his footfalls as he turned around and waved at me with delight. I saw him nearly slip and fall over, but all to easily, he caught himself and turned back and ran again, faster than before.

For a few moments, I stared up at the sky and leaned against that signpost with the biggest smile I'd had in a long time. Because Cale was now totally honest with me and I could feel it. The rain washed my face and the lightning flashed across the sky.

What a day…

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**A/N: Good chappie for you guys? Review please!**

**~Sky**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: another chapter for this has been waaaayyy long over due… sorry everyone.**

**Disclaimer: all the characters are mine, but the plotline is Erin Hunter's with slight alterations.**

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My mind was whirling earlier but it's kind of died down in a slow flurry. I'm still thinking of Cale more than I should and I know that he probably would've kissed me today. And I would've liked if. I would've kissed him back.

I easily would've kissed Cale back. I had no doubt in my mind that I would have. I felt something for him that had never really been in me before. These emotions were buried deep and hidden under layers of stone. I'd never really liked anyone before that was in my grasp. Like rockstars are normal for teenage and tween girls, but a real guy? Who I could actually hang out with and make a fool of myself with and still have him falling for me every second of the day? That never happened in the real world. Which left me even more confused on how it was actually happening to me.

Life gets so confusing sometimes...

So I'm sitting out in my garden and sketching a little bit. The rain died off about an hour ago, but it's still wet and a bit chilly. My pencil's kind of wet and my hands and hair are still soaked from earlier with Cale. My jacket is just draped over my shoulders and the whirling cold winds still pierced it, making me feel like I could freeze at any second in the quickly chilling temperatures.

I liked sitting out in my little garden of herbs after a storm because it sparkles when after heavy rains. The tiny tear droplets cling to the leaves and they glisten when even the faintest amount of light hits them. And with the sunlight filtering through the quickly thinning clouds, they were shimmering as I sketched out the soft tansy's beauty and crafted it into my sketchbook for safekeeping.

The pencil felt natural in my hand as I began the rough drawing of the stem, a long thick line of black. Colors only appeared in my book when necessary. And it was never necessary. I liked using just my pencils or a pen if needed. But my bag had been drenched from the water when Cale had saved me. I couldn't hate him for it and I definitely couldn't regret it. Cale just made everything seem better.

The stem arched out and I felt my hand go back to the base of the stem. I knew what I was doing, but I didn't stop myself in time to know what I was doing wrong exactly. My wrist flicked over and over again in the same motion and I could see the beginnings of the dark crow's feather again in my drawing instead of the soft, lush tansy petals that had sprung into a bright bloom.

I pulled the pencil away from the paper. Drawing the feather in large scale was actually soothing. It was like warming my soul. I stared at it for the longest time, drinking in the scent of the herbs around me in my garden.

The feather was a mix of deep fading grays and soft ebony blacks. The middle was in pure black pencil strokes, something I rarely did anymore. The way the sides of it flecked out from the center was perfect. It was as if I could pick up a feather and compare them but not know which one was the real thing.

Cale. That was my only thought for the rest of the time in my garden. The sweet scents of catmint and lavender swirled around me, mixing with the harsh, biting smell of dock and lamb's ear. I didn't even draw anymore after the feather.

My heart hammered in my chest. Why did this feel so wrong? Why couldn't I stop thinking of him?

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**A/N: and the drama ensues. Alrite, review and you get a cyber cookie! Thanks!**

**~Sky**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: this won't be lasting too much longer, I'm sorry to say. I hope that I can get it finished up soon for another Warriors fic that'll be called 'The Murders of Willowskye'. It'll be based off a roleplay that we had going in my club on Marapets.**

**In the meantime, this.**

**Disclaimer: characters are mine, plot is based off of Erin Hunter's story.**

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I made my way swiftly to my locker, pausing only to shoot a soft smile a Cale who stood right next to my locker, digging through his own.

He flashed me a quiet smile. "Leah, you want to hang out after school today?" he asked, his gaze flickering away from me to grab whatever he was looking for. Apparently, he had found it and was trying to tug it out with both hands. "I want to show you this really cool place I found the other day. You'd love it."

I bit my lip, glad that he was too distracted to see that I was contemplating his request. I had promised Cassidy that I'd have her picture done today and it was barely half finished. I had worked on it endlessly at lunch, barely finding time to shove a sandwich in my mouth before the bell rang.

And I couldn't get the ears to look right. One was a bit more lopsided and crooked than the other and I had tried at least three times to fix it, but it kept on turning out the same as ever.

Spending time with Cale or keeping my promise to Cassidy?

I tasted a little blood and decided that biting my lip was a bit to the extreme since I had broken skin.

Cale had crouched down next to me and was waving a hand in front of my face. "Earth to Leah," he laughed whole-heartedly with that breath-takingly, charming grin of his. "So what do you think?"

"I promised Cassidy I would finish something for her," I told him. "It's a little overdue and I have to get to work on it immediately."

"It'll only be for like an hour, I promise you, Leah." His voice was so soft and enticing. "You can get right to it afterwards, alright?"

I hated agreeing to it, but I did. I'd just have to do my best on the drawing after I got back from hanging out with Cale. I just couldn't say no to his charm and the way his eyes sparkled when he looked at me like that. He was perfect. "Okay," I breathed, pulling my sketchbook out of my locker and putting my hand in his outstretched one so that he could help me up. He did and then politely shut my locker.

"Shall I walk you to class?" he asked, faking a flawless British accent.

"Indeed," I giggled, unable to control myself to return his words with my own crappy accent.

So we walked.

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**A/N: there's that. Review because I command it. haha.**

**~Sky**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: wow, I have to finish this up soon….**

**Warning: this one is rated T, but I don't feel the need to change the overall because of this.**

**Disclaimer: own characters, but plot is by Erin Hunter. No one is permitted to use my characters without permission directly from me.**

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Cale led me to an open clearing like something out of 'Twilight'.

Lilies dotted the grass like little heads of rabbits poking out of the ground and the grasses were up to my knees, dancing in the brisk wind that floated like a song through the air. Sunlight rained down, warming me from head to toe and making Cale's ebony hair glisten. My eyes were shining as I stared around the clearing with a soft gaze and a warm, welcoming feeling radiating through me like the way hot chocolate soaked into my system.

His broad and strong arms wrapped around my waist. "You like it?" he asked, voice low and somewhat seductive.

"Of course," I murmured, finding my breath taken away with him in such close proximity. I put my hands on his as they rested on my stomach, the warm still flowing freely. His lips touched my ear before moving down my neck and I found him kissing my collarbone within seconds.

I leaned into him, letting my body mesh against his like one of the most romantic scenes I had ever seen in movies. His body was warm and strong and sturdy. I felt a moan lingering in my throat and I kept it bottled in. I couldn't let him know how much I really did want him.

The sunlight kissed my skin almost as much as Cale's lips did. We spent about an hour like that, his kisses touching my skin and my body melting into his hot chest. I had turned at some point so that he held me around the waist still, but his hands were just above my rear and resting politely in the small of my back. The way he was kissing me so desperately, I could tell simply that he wanted more, but I wouldn't give in. I wasn't ready yet for that.

He nibbled at my lower lip and I let him in. His tongue touched mine softly at first. Then harder until we were wrestling in the middle of a French. My arms moved to lace around the back of his neck, my fingers tangling up into his raven-colored hair.

"Cale," I breathed, finding myself wanting so much more. "Cale." My voice could've been a whisper or a whimper, but I think it sounded more like a moan because his hands lowered on my back so that he was holding me where no boy had before.

His eyes glistened when I looked at him and before I knew what was happening, we were lying in the tall grasses, kissing endlessly for hours and hours until the sun was down and the moon was up above our heads, lingering over us as if suspended by a string.

Eventually, we separated, him getting off from on top of me, my clothes still on me and his clothes still on him. We stayed in the silence for a long time.

A single word hung between us.

"Wow."

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**A/N: there's my little fluffy romance scene. Thanks for reading, all! Review it or die!**

**~Sky**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I just have to post like four things today. And I have to wrap this up so I can get new stuff started, alright?**

**Disclaimer: own characters, but plot is Erin Hunter's.**

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I was quiet for a long time until an Asian song began coming from my pocket and I could only assume it to be my cell phone since the song was my ringtone and all. Sheepishly, I began to fish it out of my pocket as Cale's warm grip tightened around my slender waist, just making me feel like I was meant foe some greater purpose in the world, even though that itself was a lie.

"Hey," I answered, not bothering to check the caller ID.

Mia's voice came through loud and clear. "Cassidy's hurt," came the girl's scared voice. "She was helping me with something and she fell and hit her head really bad, Leah." Her voice was quivering like the last leaf on the trees in the middle of December. "They don't think she's going to make it."

My heart sank to my stomach, sitting there like a cold stone as Cale's hands ran across my body with his addictive and warm and enticing touch. Panic wrenched at my guts and I rose to my feet, pushing away my dark-haired lover abruptly. One hand quickly ran through my sandy blonde, almost brownish hair. My phone was pinned to my ear with using my shoulder and my other hand grabbed my bag as Cale stood from laying in the grass, the impressions of our bodies lasting in the foliage.

"Where are you?" I asked, voice anxious and fearful as I began to head out into the woods that surrounded the clearing we had been hiding in with the sunlight on our faces while my best friend in the entire universe lay dying.

She shot me off the name of a nearby hospital. Then there was a long sigh as I pushed my way through the lush undergrowth and the cool, dank air greeted me warmly as I pushed my way out from the brisk edges of the woods and into the side of the highway where we had come from. Mia continued, "She wants to know if you've got that picture done, Leah. She's only asking for you, no one else."

I felt the tears welling in my eyes as Cale caught up to me, always faster than I was, always on the move. I caught a worried glimmer in his dark eyes as I held a hand up to the base of my throat, swallowing back sobs as if they were bile.

And I started to run, my feet thundering across the pavement in the cold air that nipped at my exposed ankles, the only thing controlling me the thought of losing my best friend, my mentor, Cassidy.

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**A/N: R&R!**

**~Sky**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: another update for y'all.**

**Disclaimer: Own characters. Plot is by Erin Hunter.**

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I dropped into the chair next to Cassidy's bed. Her eyes were glazed over as she gave me a glassy stare when I entered the room. The whole place was a deathly quiet, Cassidy's gray and purple streaked hair being the only color against the white walls. Her skin was ghostly pale. "Leah," she breathed, gasping in air to keep herself alive.

"Cass," I whimpered, taking her cold hand into my own. "Cassidy." A tear trickled its way down my cheek as I held back the waterfall that threatened to cascade down my face. "Don't leave."

"Did-" A cough came from her. I didn't even know what had happened and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know or not. Just seeing her was enough to scare me into not asking. "Did you finish my-" Her words slurred for a long moment as she seemed to try and regain herself. "My picture."

I gently bent down and shuffled the papers around in my bag until I found my pristinely organized sketchpad, the pages open wide and splayed out to show my current project to the world.

The wolf's eyes were staring out of the darkness, fur around the ears shadowed darkly as the gentle shading of the blackened forest behind the creature were gently filled in with my faint pencil lines. Amber colors had touched the eyes and a few caramel hints had been added to the coat with some of my gentle shading. The leaves had been filled in with quiet greens and the woods with lush, deep brown.

I held it out to her, my heart shattering as I realized it was still unfinished. The shading needed to be filled in with black and darker grays. I needed to finish filling in the tones of milk chocolate fur in the plush coat. I let the tears streak down my cheeks. I had failed her. Too many times, I failed her.

She took it in one shaking hand. And I watched as her glazed over eyes spilled a single tear. "Thank you, Leah," she breathed.

And then the machine behind me flat lined, sending me into hysterics as I cried my heart out, wishing has hard as I could to be able to make it up to her.

Nurses came in, ushering me out as I clung to Cassidy's now icy cold hand. She had left, no more blood pulsing through her system, no more beatings of her strong heart; just a cold corpse was left in the place of my best friend, leaving me more alone in the world than I ever had been before. "Cass," I whispered one last time as attempts to revive her went through desperately.

I already knew she was gone. And that was the way she would've liked it. She always talked about death in a positive way, like it was free. Like it was better than life. She always told me we would join our ancestors. Cassidy would've been happier that way. It was how she was.

I stood outside, staring in the room through the shining glass. A shadow in the mirror caught my eye, the dark, lurking form of Cale hiding behind me. His features read that he was uncertain of his next move.

But it was only moments later, as I collapsed with my grief and inner turmoil that his arms were woven tightly around me. He held me through my pain.

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**A/N: ah, getting close to the end. Review!**

**~Sky**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Again, I'm foreseeing two chapters left…**

**Disclaimer: I own all my characters, but the plotline is by Erin Hunter.**

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I didn't talk with Cale for another week after he dropped me off at home. I usually just sat in my garden instead of going to school. I didn't want to see anyone. I didn't even move usually. Once or twice I fell asleep out in the pouring rain.

And I accepted it. I was fine with whatever happened. Cassidy was dead. She was gone; we all have lives and she was the biggest piece of mine.

Eventually, I pulled out of my shell and walked myself to school again. I got many looks, most of them sympathetic and a few malicious from the girls who knew I was still sort of with Cale but yet not.

And as I was recovering, he was to. He had already moved on, taking the not-talking bit as a break-up. That had been exactly what it was. It had been my kiss of goodbye to him.

It had been my single mistake. I had fallen for someone who didn't even deserve me. I had fallen for someone who didn't need me. And at that same point when I was wasting my precious time with Cale, my best friend had died.

Forgiving myself for that wasn't on the agenda. I didn't deserve forgiveness. I didn't even deserve mercy.

I was an outcast for the longest time, Fresno and all the others unsure how to approach me now that I was no longer the person they had once known. I had turned into a pariah overnight. I had gone from friend to animal to loner. And I deserved what I got. I had betrayed Cassidy for love. And nothing should've ever come between our friendship. It was the most sacred thing in the world to the two of us.

One day, I had walked up to my locker and found him making out with a girl there. Long flowing waterfall of ebony hair that was as straight as a pin. And she had strikingly beautiful blue eyes. I later learned her name was Nina and that she was a transfer student, just like Cale had been. They had more in common. I let go.

No, it wasn't that Cale hadn't deserved me. I hadn't deserved him. And karma had ripped Cassidy away from me as punishment for thinking I could actually be in love with someone as amazing as Cale.

Too many mistakes. I was doomed to be forever on the outside of the glass looking in. No friends, no family, just life itself, moving on a flowing around the pains of time, glorious and inglorious. Life was my Hell. I would live it and I would survive.

But I had to patch things up with Cale before I could start my own soul searching to heal myself from this painful ache of losing everything I had cared about in one swoop of an eagle's talons.

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**A/N: We're at, what, 'Sunset' now? So next chapter would be "After Sunset". Give or take. And final chapter: covers all of POT series. In one chapter. So review!**

**~Sky**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I loved writing this, but the time has come to write up "After Sunset". And you're getting everything after that in one massive chapter. So here goes nothing.**

**Disclaimer: Characters are mine, plot is by Erin Hunter.**

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"Hey," I said, leaning against my locker as he pulled out a gray jacket. Our lockers were still side-by-side, but we were practically a whole world apart. It was like our universes were totally separated now that we had nothing to do with each other. My loyalty to Cassidy had driven a stake right between us.

He blinked at me, almost surprised. But that didn't mean anything. "Hey yourself," he said, shutting the door and leaning against his own locker to stare into my eyes with this own beautiful dark orbs. "What's new in the world of Leah?"

And he was talking to me like we were old friends just separated by time and space. But no. We had been driven apart by tragedy. Did he not understand that? "Cale, listen, I'm sorry."

He raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding anything from all this. He had to blink a few more times, watching over his shoulder to see if his girlfriend would come back at any moment to rescue him from talking to me. Or he was just worried he'd get caught talking with me.

"For everything," I managed to say, nearly getting lost in his hair and his eyes and the weak smile that lay upon his thin lips that had kissed me what seemed like a lifetime ago. "For getting caught up with you and for even being in your life. Things could've been normal for you if you had stayed away from me. And nothing ever would've happened."

His eyes seemed to brighten from being an abyss of black to becoming hidden stars in the night sky, masked by the darkness of twilight. And a corner of his mouth turned upwards to shoot me a lopsided smile that made my heart skip a beat because I hadn't quite managed to get over him yet. One hand reached up to ruffle his ebony locks. "Leah, if I hadn't met you, let's just say I never would've known what love was." And then he looked to his feet for a moment. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I put the distance between us. It's probably my fault that we're not together now and I'm the one who made you decide between me and Cassidy." Cale quietly lifted his gaze back to mine. "But what's done is done, right?"

I just nodded, practically shocked because he blamed himself for all of my troubles when I had been blaming myself all along. And maybe it wasn't just him that wedged a stake right between us. Maybe I had spaced myself out of the world too much to be brought back down. Maybe it was all too late. I already knew I had been too far-gone at one point, but Cale had known I had hit the climax, the point of no return. And at that moment, our relationship had died as fast as a rose in the winter.

And it was that moment that Nina decided to rear her ugly head, wedging that stake even further between us, making the chasm too wide to even consider building a bridge across to try and make amends. So I gave up. And like any girl, I gathered up my dignity and walked away, knowing tears were better to be saved over something more important.

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**A/N: Next: Final Chapter. Review.**

**~Sky**


	18. Chapter 18

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A/N: Finale. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: I own characters, but plot is by Erin Hunter.**

I gained three things from those events, my life changing as never expected from the moment that Cale moved here to the moment Cassidy died.

I gained a little bit of self-leadership. I wasn't just following Cassidy or Cale or anyone anymore. I had my own voice, my own thoughts, my own mind. I could finally do things for myself. I could be a leader of my own. No one could tell me what to do, not if I was in charge of myself. And I planned on being a leader one day, whether anyone else knew it or not.

I gained courage. I had to stand up to Cale somehow to talk to him all those times. I had a backbone now and I could look at the world the way I wanted to, my way. I had the strength and the inconceivable power to just know what I was going to do. And as long as I had courage and that self-leadership, no one could tell me what to do. I was my own personal army instead of having Cassidy fight all my battles for me.

And I gained a blindness to love. I boxed myself off from caring about anything too deeply. I drove myself back into that shell that Cassidy had molded for me. But with a new awareness of the world outside. I remained blind to love and pieces of the world that I didn't want to see. And that made me more driven than ever to find the secrets of the world hidden around me and back into my art that had faded into the background for a while there.

I had gained things. I was now more powerful than ever. I had new skills, new abilities, a new lifestyle. I could easily find ways to turn my world from a subtle failure to the best place I could imagine it to be.

The only hard thing to get around was the strange, lingering hole in my heart. It was painful, but not horribly bad. I could survive the agony. But it was only there because I had lost Cale and Cassidy in the same moments of time. And loss will always linger, it will always hurt, but it does have a tendency to make people stronger than they could ever be without it.

Losing Cale helped me gain things. Losing Cassidy gave me myself again. And the life ahead of me was only looking up now.

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**A/N: I hope you enjoyed. Complete! And review!**

**~Sky**


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